When the boss was sifting through the final candidates for employment while making a hiring decision, he came across dozens of candidates who automatically had removed themselves from contention without knowing it. I am writing this with the hope that you can learn from their mistakes. First, you have to understand hiring managers are often doubting, suspicious and somewhat critical. They have to be though, because if their team does not perform, they are likely to be replaced or demoted.

Keep in mind this is coming from a former hiring manager and from a Certified Professional Resume Writer who has interviewed thousands of hiring managers personally. Without further ado, here are the biggest resume disasters hiring managers see.

A start date to Present on three or more employers! These folks are immediately passed on because their attention and efforts would clearly be divided much more so than those with one employer at a time. Perhaps you have heard of the saying, "the energy flows where the attention goes." Well, no truer words were ever spoken, and on that basis, most feel this is a sound business decision. Let me also mention, a dash or two of humility is a wonderful thing too.

Other common fatal mistakes you can easily avoid would include not making it clear which position you are targeting with your resume. The HR department personnel are not mind readers. Help them out a little bit more by telling them where you want to go and why, and you may get somewhere. Please also understand that your cover letter and resume may be separated.

I also see more and more candidates that change their position with their previous/current employer to match the job opening they are targeting. Apparently, fully grown adults are blissfully unaware that their employment dates and positions will be verified by their prospective employer before they start work. Many employers also routinely pull credit reports for "reliability reasons" or positions in management, finance, credit, banking, investment or sales. Your employment information also normally shows on a full credit report called a tri-merge. In addition, employers will routinely do a Google search on your name and this will enable them to pull up alternate versions of your resume and your Linkedin profile. If they see serious inconsistencies in the positions you worked and your employment history, you have just shot yourself in the foot. Take my advice be honest and consistent.

Another fatal error is use of fake degrees, either imagined or from well-known diploma mills where you pay $500 and get an official looking diploma to a school that never existed or at best only has a website. The HR Department knows how to investigate the final candidates before the hiring decision is made. Sure, occasionally their data may arrive late, but trust me if your degree is from a diploma mill they will find out about it, rarely will they overlook you. It is also important to know that academic fraud is a felony and has stiff penalties in many states with prison time.

Finally, exaggeration of one's abilities or accomplishments is a very serious turnoff. These folks are also setting themselves up for failure in the interviews anyway, because they will be cross-examined with extra zeal. Now, if you have the evidence to back it up or can repeat those performances you have no worries. You also are allowed to sprinkle in the word I when appropriate on your resume. However, beyond two or three times per page is seriously frowned upon.

Copyright 2011 by Darrell Z. DiZoglio. Great writing on demand. Accelerate your job search. Dream jobs do come true for my clients every day. Resume good => Job good => Life good. Click here => http://RighteousResumes.com To see the tools your competition used to get hired quick, Click here => http://RighteousResumes.com/services.html